Spring and new knitting possibilities

There seem to be many types of knitters: those who hoard yarn in a few balls of this or a few skeins of that; those that will buy for specific projects and have many sweater or project lots of yarn; and then there are the knitters who have several projects going at one time and either A.) complete them all at various points or B.) fail to complete any of them at any given time and continue acquiring more. As a knitter, I fall somewhere between A. and B. of the latter type. I have many projects going because I knit everywhere; I have one upstairs in my sitting room; I have one downstairs in the living room, I have one in the car, I have another portable project for waiting rooms, etc. and I think I have one at my shop, Bo~Peep, as well. They all eventually get finished at some point or another, but then I always have my eye on a future project, as I think most knitters do. My point is that spring offers so many possibilities for knitting and crochet. You can knit something to wear now and in the warm summer months OR you can get a really big head start on knitting for fall, winter and the holidays, which seriously is not unheard of. It is a misconception that knitters only knit in the winter; real knitters knit year round. While I am finishing up those endless socks for my husband, my eye is already on a BEAUTIFUL Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton pattern--the Montauk Cabled Vest--for summer. It is beautiful, flowy cables done in a very modern, wearable way. Not like traditional cables which tend to add unflattering bulk if overused in a pattern. You can find this fabulous pattern for sale at PATTERNFISH - Montauk Check it out and get knitting. Although, on second thought, you probably already are.

Spring is in the air--and in the water....

Winter mornings are usually quiet. Silent, really. No birds singing, maybe only a cold wind whipping. Nature is just quiet. These days upon opening the garage door to take my daughter to school early in the morning, the outside is just ALIVE with birds singing, temperate breezes blowing--sounds non-existent during the winter. Speaking of winter, it was a long one and I'm ready for spring. And I think most other knitters (and non-knitters) are, too! I've noticed that daily, as new yarns arrive in that dull brown UPS truck (how ironic that those unremarkable brown trucks carry some of the most lovely things that we buy~), I can barely get them out of the box, let alone into the computer, before people are snatching them up and ordering MORE! That is not a bad problem to have. It's just a sign of our eagerness to move forward to bigger, better projects and most certainly, better weather!

Christmastime is here....

Here I am after approx. a 4 month hiatus. Bo~Peep Fine Yarns is just more than I could have hoped for and a true blessing in so many ways! LOVE that place! Anyhoo, with Christmas right around the corner, I finally just last month began working on my New Year's Resolution (2009's) to learn socks. So I made my first set, using some kind of Plymouth yarn I got on vacation and it looks pretty good. I say "it" because only 1 sock is complete since I began them on DPNs. I am currently experiencing "Second Sock Syndrome" with sock #2. It sits on the coffee table at the shop waiting until after the holiday for completion. However, I began my second set of socks for my much-deserving husband, this time using the very popular 2-at-a-time method. Eileen (at the shop) was sick of me "dinkin' around" on an 8" Addi Turbo so she ripped me off of it and put me on the 40" #0. And it worked. However, husband will most likely them still on needles for Christmas. In other knitting news, since his socks are sucking the life-blood out of me, I actually had to buy a dear friend a beautiful scarf off of Etsy.com since I would have loved to have made her one, but time simply didn't permit. SO something handmade is better than nothing handmade.

We're Heeeerrrreee!

My store, Bo~Peep Fine Yarns has finally opened, albeit for a Preview Weekend, to just great, great excitement!!! We had so many wonderful people come through our door, from locals to as far away as the Netherlands!! All buying yarn, books and supplies. I'm a little nervous about how busy we could be tomorrow, but it is exciting be able to help people fulfill their creative yearnings. My family, good friends, other merchants and everyone had so many well wishes to offer and look forward to returning to Bo~Peep for more yarn, classes and most of all, fun, fun, FUN!! Stay tuned!

Waiting in the wings

I already have my next knitting/crochet project waiting in the wings.  A dear friend has been given a less than hopeful prognosis with cancer this week and has decided to undergo treatment nonetheless.  So, I stopped at the local Wal-Mart, picked up so lovely grey HomeSpun (which I've never worked with, but I understand it works up quickly) and will trim it in an oddly urban lime green. I'm going to do a version of a man-wrap or a lap-ghan for when he has his treatments.  I'm almost finished with my mother-in-law's shell/vest--I have blocked it and now need to add my periwinkle blue trim to it, and then completion just in time for the big party  tomorrow....  I stopped by my new LYS tonight and the majority of the lighting is done, and the ceiling is in and it all looks absolutely SPECTACULAR!!!  It is going to be a seriously gorgeous yarn store!!!  The more I see of it, the more I cannot WAIT to get yarn in there.  

Almost...

I'm making tremendous progress on the sweater for my mother-in-law.  Almost ready to bind-off stitches for the back of the neck and then begin to work on the front neck and shoulders.  This is all done in the round, mind you, and quite easily I must say.  The store is just ripping along--ceiling and lighting going in today, I've moved up the yarn delivery dates, and have to call to move up the carpet cleaning as well.  The next knitting pattern I absolutely have to make is the Bi-Directional vest. It's a free pattern from Straw.com using Crystal Palace Taos yarns.  Absolutely beautiful!  And typically, I find garment knitting boring, the use of the multi-colored Taos is too, too fun! And the end result is striking!  Thanks to Frank Sartoro from Mission Falls showing me the real-life sample and inspiring me to do one myself.  All that being said, the weather is fine, but since the children were sick for the last 2 weeks, no swimming until the end of this week, just in case.  Although it will be nice to get out there and get some color on us....Knitting full speed ahead!

Gift Knitting

Sometimes, nothing is better than knitting a special gift for someone you know will REALLY appreciate it.  Like the sweater I'm frantically knitting for my mother-in-law's 75th birthday NEXT THURSDAY [N.B.  This is relevant because I'm a notoriously slow knitter--still haven't mastered Continental yet!] because I know she will truly love, cherish and most importantly, USE the sweater vest I'm making for her.  She has a million vests and shells knitted and crocheted for her by her mother while she was still alive, that she literally wears daily--yes, year round, too!  The sad part of the whole thing is that my mother-in-law comes from a long, long line of immensely skilled knitters from Scotland and she never learned it herself.  She certainly regrets that, too.  I have a bunch of items that were handknitted by her family that I will display in the new store and they are beautiful old hats, sweaters and blankets probably from somewhere around the 1940s.   Gorgeous!! As a chemical engineer, though, my mother-in-law had different interests and domestic "fun" skills  were not necessarily in the line-up.  That being said, I am hoping and praying to get the vest done in a week, although it is rolling from the bottom up (1x1" rib at the bottom, stockinette the rest of the way up on circular needles!) in a terribly annoying way!  I am considering some preliminary blocking on the bottom part just so it will quit chasing me as I knit upward and onward.  I cannot wait to see my beloved mother-in-law wearing something I have made just for her.  The perfect gift.